The Green Bay Packers clinched a playoff spot on Thursday, but they'd still like to win their last two games and possibly steal the NFC North division title from the Bears. But they'll have to win Saturday's game against Baltimore without quarterback Jordan Love, who had a concussion last week.
The Green Bay Packers got a nice bonus Christmas gift on Thursday when the Detroit Lions lost to the Minnesota Vikings. It guaranteed them a spot in the postseason.
And the timing couldn't be better.
With a playoff spot secured, the Packers' final two games of the season don't mean as much as they might have a few days ago. Now the Packers don't have to force the issue with quarterback Jordan Love, who's dealing with a few health concerns. The biggest is the concussion he suffered in last week's brutal loss to the Chicago Bears, but he has a shoulder issue as well.
He's been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Baltimore Ravens. Veteran Malik Willis will get the start.
Here's the news on Love from Packers Roundtable writer Ashish Mathur
The Packers are 9-5-1 on the season, and 1.5 games behind the Bears in the NFC North race. It is still possible that they can win the division, but they need two wins and two Chicago losses.
Green Bay finishes the season at Minnesota next weekend. The Bears play at San Francisco on Sunday night, and then wrap up their regular season at home against the Lions next weekend. The Week 18 schedule will be announced on Monday.
The Packers have plenty of faith in the 26-year-old Willis at quarterback, so not forcing the issue on Love isn't necessarily a bad thing.
"It's just a very delicate issue, you know what I'm saying, in terms of, we've seen it with certain guys, they come in, they feel great one day, and then the next day they don't," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said earlier this week. "So it kind of is a little bit of a moving target."
The Packers and Ravens play at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday in Green Bay. The game is televised on Peacock.
The Ravens (7-8) may be without their starting quarterback, as well. They listed veteran QB Lamar Jackson as doubtful on the injury report because of a back contusion. If Jackson does not play, Tyler Huntley will start for Baltimore. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said it will likely be a game-time decision.
“He’s practiced and played a lot of football; he’s won a lot of games for us,” Harbaugh said. “If he’s ready to go, he will go. If he can go, he will go. You can bet on that.”
With all the uncertainty, the point spread has been bouncing around quite a bit. According to Fanduel.com, the Packers are a 3.5-point and the over/under line has dropped all the way down to 38.5. Temperatures in the mid-30s are expected at kickoff, with no precipitation.